


Insomnia

by BreakfastTea



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2013-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-14 00:00:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreakfastTea/pseuds/BreakfastTea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the end of the semester and Jim hasn't slept for eight days</p>
            </blockquote>





	Insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in January not too long after we got those first trailers and I was exploding with excitement. Can't believe it was so long ago already! Gosh, where has this year gone? ANYWAY! I absolutely LOVE Academy Era stories ^_^ Zero spoilers!
> 
> Oh, and in my headcanon, if Pike's Jim's surrogate Dad, Archer's his surrogate Granddad ;)

The door chimed, short and sharp.  Leaving his coffee on the desk, Leonard headed to the door and opened it.

“Jim?” Leonard couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice.  Something was wrong.  “What happened?”

“Bones, I'm sorry.  I know it's late, but I really need your help.”

Leonard stepped aside, allowing his friend to enter the room.  Staring at Jim as he walked by, Leonard made a rapid mental list.  No blood, no bruises and nothing obviously broken.  “What's wrong?  You look awful.”

Pale, eyes heavy and dark, Jim sat down heavily on Leonard's bed.  “I can't sleep.”

Checking the clock, Leonard laughed.  “Jim, it's eight in the evening.”

Jim went on as though he hadn't heard.  “It's been useful, sure, but finals were over before any of this started so I’ve got nothing to study for and I think I’ve read everything for next semester already and I really, really need to sleep.”

“Roommate keeping you up?”

“Nah, he's gone home already.”

Swallowing a sip of his coffee, Leonard frowned over his mug.  “When did you last sleep?”

“Er...”

“Jim! How many days?”

No response.  Jim was staring into space

Grabbing Jim's shoulder, Leonard gave him a firm shake.  “How many days?”

“Seven? No, eight.  Eight days ago... Maybe.  I'm not sure.  Maybe longer.”

“Eight days?” Leonard spluttered.  Leaping to his feet, he dug into his bag for his tricorder.  “What the hell have you taken?”

Jim offered a fragile laugh.  “Nothing illegal.”

“Somehow that doesn't comfort me.”

“It was a drug trial.  Starfleet Medical have been researching drugs to keep officers awake and fully active in combat and survival situations.  They offered extra credit for test subjects.  Everybody wins.”

“You call this winning?” The tricorder spouted a worrying readout.  Insomnia itself wasn’t lethal, but a body needed downtime.  “Trust someone in Starfleet to come up with something as stupid as this.” He didn’t bother masking his disgust.  “Dammit, Jim.”

“I was just trying to help Starfleet Medical get whatever results it needed and help keep us alive out there.” Jim waved at the sky. “I’m helping.”

“By not sleeping for eight days?”

“Exactly.” Bloodshot blue eyes finally stop wandering and lock onto Leonard’s.  Jim grinned wearily.  “I am so ahead in my reading, it’s awesome,” he said through a massive yawn, the words drawn out and distorted.

“Could you even read the words?” Leonard asked.  “Tricorder says your eyes aren't focusing properly.”

Jim blinked heavily.  “It's weird.  I wasn't tired until after my meeting with Captain Pike this morning.  It's like eight days of no sleep hit me as soon as he said ‘dismissed’.  But no matter what I do, my brain won't shut up.”

Leonard sighed.  “And that made you come here?”

“Not exactly.”

“Jim.”

He shrugged sheepishly.  “I figured I needed to see you when dust bunnies started hopping over my dorm room floor.”

Hallucinations? “Good God.  Other symptoms?”

“It's sleep deprivation, Bones,” Jim said, head in hands.  “Work it out.”

“Why the hell didn't you go back to Starfleet Medical and tell them? They'll have a counteragent.”

“They gave it to all the test subjects two days ago.  It worked for them.”

“Then you need another dose.” Closing the tricorder, Leonard pulled Jim to his feet.  “We're going back.”

“What if it doesn't work?” Jim sounded desperate

“Sedatives.”

Stumbling, Jim grabbed Leonard to keep himself upright.  “I don't care if they prescribe a crowbar to the head.  I have to sleep.”

***

Midnight.  Jim was still awake and looking half-dead with his need for sleep.  Leonard was struggling to fight off sleep and couldn't keep from yawning.

“Sorry, Jim,” he said.

“Forget it,” Jim murmured absently.  He had his back to Leonard, staring out the window.  “It’s not your fault.”

The baffled scientists who'd run the drug trial were carrying out an immense amount of tests.  Despite another dose of the anti-sleep drug's counter-agent, Jim remained awake.  Stranger still, sedatives had absolutely no effect.  Leonard looked at his friend, wishing he could do something more. Instead, he could only sit alongside his friend and stifle yawns.

“What are you thinking about?” Leonard asked.

At some point, Jim's sleep deprivation had robbed him of his concentration.  Leonard had to call several times before Jim responded at all.

“There's... over there... outside... Waving.”

Leonard looked, but of course the gardens outside Starfleet Medical were empty. “Jim – ”

“The little people.  They musta come outta the lights.”

Leonard sat back down.  “What else are they doing?”

Jim chuckled tiredly.  “Dancing.”

Patting his friend's shoulder, Leonard laughed too.  “Keep an eye on 'em.  I'll go see what the scientists are up to.”

Jim suddenly grabbed Leonard’s wrist, his grip painfully tight.  “Don't let them eat the cake.” His red eyes were wide with concern.  “Don’t, okay?”

Stomach tight with worry, Leonard was momentarily stunned. “I… I won’t.”

“The shadow kids made it.  It looks amazing but I can't have any 'til it's cooled down.” Jim released Leonard’s wrist and settled back onto his side.  “Even then they can’t eat the red bits.  It’s poison.  Part of the challenge.”

Insomnia had made Jim’s ramblings utterly unfathomable.  “Right.  I'll be back.”

“I'll save some cake for you.  But remember –”

“Don’t eat the red bits.”

Jim’s smile could still light up the room, even if he was hallucinating.  “You’re so smart, Bones.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He was totally not blushing.  “Just try and go to sleep.”

“Oh, funny.”

Stepping out of the room, Leonard headed to a nearby office where the scientists were having a meeting.  “Anything?” he asked.

“Based on test results, the only thing keeping him awake is, well, him,” said the lead scientist, Doctor Hilcox, passing a PADD to Leonard.  “It's true the counter-agent isn't having an effect, but the anti-sleep drug is almost out of his system.  It'll be gone completely within a few more hours.  Once it's gone, sedatives should be effective, but it'd be better for him to fall into a natural sleep.”

“So you're saying he just needs to stop thinking, relax, and go to sleep?”

“Yes.”

“Does he need to stay here?” Because if there was one place Jim was never going to relax, it was in a hospital bed.

“Not at all, although if he isn't asleep by tomorrow night, we'll have to intervene.”

“Right.  I'll take him to his dorm.”

“Don't leave until he's snoring,” Hilcox commanded.

“Yes, sir.”

***

“Nine days.”

Startling out of his own doze, blinking in the painfully bright morning light, Leonard looked over at Jim.  “You've gotta be kidding.”

“Is that a record?”

“For idiot cadets staying awake? Probably.”

Jim yawned.  “Coffee?”

“No way.  No stimulants.  No caffeine.  No anything.  Go to sleep.”

“But it's daytime.”

“I don't care if the sun never sets again! Go to sleep!”

“It's weird.  I feel more awake today.”

“Jim, this is insane.  What the hell is keeping you awake?”

“If I knew the answer to that, don't you think I would've dealt with it by now? Can't you just knock me out?”

“Natural sleep would be better.”

Jim’s red eyes narrowed.  “I don't give a shit if it'd be better, I want to sleep.”

“We'll give it until tonight.  If you're still awake at twenty-one hundred, we'll go back to Medical.”

“Okay,” Jim said on a sigh.

“But natural sleep would be much better.  You can't start relying on sedatives.”

“Bones...”

“Maybe we're coming at it from the wrong angle.  Maybe we just gotta wear you out until you're too tired to even move.”

“How?”

A Jim Kirk who couldn't respond with a lurid suggestion of how to tire himself out was a mere shadow of Leonard's friend.  “You need to sleep,” he muttered.

“I know.” Jim groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.  “What should I do?”

His communicator trilled suddenly.  Grabbing it off his desk, Jim answered the call.  Leonard could hardly believe who was on the other end.

How did Jim know Admiral Archer?

“Yes, sir, I’m free at the moment… Ah, yeah, yeah I can do that.  Sure, I’m on the way now.”

Jim ended the call.  Leonard stared.  Jim stared back inquisitively until his brain worked out the unspoken question.  “Oh, right.  I met him after a history seminar.  I asked too many questions and he told me if I wanted all the answers, I’d have to take his dog for a walk.  Turns out there was a lot I wanted to know, so I take d’Artagnan for a lot of walks.”

And that was how they spent the day chasing Admiral Archer's beagle across campus.  Leonard was none too pleased; he didn't need wearing out.  Jim kept up with the dog surprisingly well, even though his coordination was a little off and he tripped over his own feet several times.  When they returned the bouncy beagle to his owner's apartment, Archer invited them in.

“Jim, feed d'Artagnan for me.  Don't worry about finding everything, he'll show you where it all is.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jim followed the trotting dog into a room off the main lounge.  Archer led Leonard into the kitchen and started brewing coffee.  “You want to tell me why the kid looks like he hasn't slept in a week?”

“Because he hasn't,” Leonard said, explaining the drug trial.

“And you've got no idea what's keeping him awake now?”

“No, sir.”

“You'll have to sharpen up if you want to make Chief Medical Officer one day, kid.” Archer placed two mugs on the counter.

“You know what's wrong?”

“I think if you worried a little less about how to make him sleep and thought about why he's not sleeping, it'll all become pretty clear.”

“But there's no medical reason...”

“Exactly.  So, what else could it be?”

“Just Jim being Jim?”

Archer gave him a stern glare.  “McCoy, you can do better than that.  He's your friend.  What's on his mind?”

“He says he's not worried about anything.”

“You sure about that?”

Leonard deflated.  “No.”

“Then think.  What's he worried about?”

“I don't know! He's hardly an open book.”

“You don't think so?”

Frustration got the better of him.  “Can we stop this damn game and get to the point?”

Archer cocked an eyebrow.

Horrified, Leonard back-pedalled.  “Sorry, sir.  That was unacceptable. I didn't mean to lose my temper.”

“At ease, McCoy.  You’re worried about him and he’s not the only one who’s missed out on sleep lately.” Archer waited until Leonard relaxed and finally took pity. “The results of all the finals will be posted tomorrow morning.”

Realization couldn't have hit harder even if he'd taken it as an anvil to the head.  “Oh,” was all he could manage because it was so _obvious._

Archer chuckled and patted Leonard's arm.  “Don't worry about it.”

“Don't worry? He hasn't slept in over a week!”

“But he'll get a good night's rest tonight, trust me.”

***

Jim buzzed the whole way back to his dorm, even though Archer hadn't allowed him anywhere near the coffee.  He had too much energy for someone who hadn't slept, and although he seemed to be free of hallucinations, Jim still had a tendency to drift into deep thought.

A message was waiting for Jim when they reached his dorm.  He didn't bother looking, plummeting face first into bed instead.

“You're not gonna read it?” Leonard asked.

“Remember how I said I couldn't really see straight yesterday? Well, now my eyes only focus about forty percent of the time.”

“I'll read it out to you then. Could be important.”

Jim grunted.  “Probably just spam.”

Opening the e-mail, Leonard couldn't contain his grin.  He made a mental note to thank Archer later.  “Huh,” he said aloud.

“What?”

“Pike's forwarded your grades.  It says 'Congratulations on your success.  Keep it up, and maybe it'll only take three years.'  Want me to –”

Jim was suddenly at his side.  Scrubbing his eyes, blinking hard, he managed to focus on the message.  “Bones,” he breathed, sounding giddy.  “I did it.”

“Passed an insane number of classes? Yeah, you did.” Leonard clapped Jim on the shoulder.  “Great job, kid.  Feel up to a celebratory drink?”

Jim was rubbing at his eyes, looking ready to cry with relief.  He stumbled backwards until he hit his bed, sitting down with a thump.  “I didn't fail.” There was another thump as Jim flopped onto his back.  “I'm not gonna get kicked out.”

“What?”

Arm over his eyes, Jim managed a weak approximation of a laugh.  “I thought I'd fuck something up.”

“Jim –”

“Go get that bottle of whiskey from your room.  Let's celebrate in style.”

Jim didn't even move.  Leonard suspected he'd be out cold by the time he returned, but he went back to his room for the whiskey anyway.  When he returned, Jim was still on his bed, resting on his side with his eyes shut

“Jim?”

To his credit, Jim actually tried to open his eyes.  It didn’t work.  “Bones,” he muttered

Resisting the urge to run a hand through Jim’s hair, Leonard placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder.  “Relax.”

Whatever Jim said in response was lost to his pillow.  His breathing quickly deepened, his body relaxing.  After nine restless days, Jim finally slept.

Knocking back a shot of bourbon (and yeah, he'd brought the good stuff), Leonard sent Archer a quick message.  _Thanks for your help.  He's out._

He received a response within moments.  _You're welcome._

Turning off all the lights and tossing a blanket over his slumbering friend, Leonard took up the spare bed.


End file.
